


Running With Wolves

by Birdie_Castellan



Series: Killer Swans [1]
Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: And I have a Thing for motorcycles, Angst, BAMF Original Female Character(s), But kinda Canon Compliant, Canon Related, Canon-Typical Violence, Childhood Friends, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hotheads in Love, I also have a Thing for trucks, I also suck at tagging oops, I had an idea that wont leave me alone, I have a potty mouth and so does Paul Lahote, I have no clue where I'm going with this, Idiots in Love, Insomnia, Motorcycles, Original Character(s), Past Relationship(s), So yall will have to deal, Starts in New Moon, Swearing, The Swan family has a Thing for trucks, Vampire Hunters, Wolf Pack, i'm updating tags at 1am instead of sleeping, no beta we die like men, not quite canon compliant, so please bear with me, soft Paul Lahote
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2020-11-27 02:10:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 14,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20940563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Birdie_Castellan/pseuds/Birdie_Castellan
Summary: Charlotte-Anne Swan, known to Forks, Washington and surrounding area as 'Little Charlie', 'Charlie II', or simply as 'Junior', may not have been close to her little sister growing up, but she was still protective of Bella.When Bella's vampire boyfriend skips town, leaving Bella behind, Charlotte swears to do everything in her power to protect her sister and make sure she gets back to her lively, brave, lovable self as soon as possible. Even if that means keeping secrets from Bella.Secrets about her friends.Secrets about her hobbies.Secrets with claws and fur.Secrects involving a redheaded woman.But there's one secret Charlie's also keeping from herself.A secret involving Paul, her best friend.Paul, her housemate.Paul, the hothead.Paul, the werewolf.Bella isn't sure if she should be worried or suspicious when it comes to her older sister. Jake said she's part of some gang with Sam Uley. Bella doesn't know what to believe. So when Jake refuses to speak with her, and has Billy lie to her about his wellbeing, she decides to find out the truth for herself.





	1. Prologue

_Silver eyes gleamed in the soft moonlight as the arrow hit it's mark. A grin broke out on the female's face as she watched her handmade arrowhead sink further into the tree at the opposite end of the clearing. Letting a loud cheer escape, she strode forwards to see how far the arrow had gotten. She could tell even before she was halfway to it that this had been the best one yet. She'd finally made an arrow that might actually do some damage to that red headed nomad bitch. Turning around, she grinned wildly, victoriously at the large wolf standing in front of her. The silver wolf grinned back._


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is gonna be very self indulgent for me. I've had this idea rattling around in my skull for the past week or so, and I feel like if I write it down then I'll be able to retain what little sanity I have left. 
> 
> If you have questions, please don't feel afraid to ask! I'd love to have your feedback!
> 
> Like I said, this is very self-indulgent for me, but it's the first thing I've written since May, so I don't really care how self-indulgent I get with this, I'm just proud of myself for writing it down.

"We still on for dinner tonight, Dad?" Charlotte bit her lip in anticipation of Charlie's answer. The man sighed loudly into the phone. "I don't know, sweetheart, your sister is still upset at Jake for ignoring her and she seems to think it has something to do with you and the boys."

Charlotte was upset by this, but amused by her sister's thought process, and thus had to keep herself from laughing. Bella was on the right track, of course she didn't know the real reason for it, but she was on the right track. She wouldn't tell Charlie that though. "She's told me what Jake said about Sam." She started. "But honestly, I think Jake should learn to keep his nose of other people's business. It's not his job to get her all worked up over nothing just because he's a nosy little prat."

"I know, darling. But you know Bells, she's not about to let it go." He chuckled, "Maybe once this all blows over, we can have two dinners in one week? Maybe we could eat at your place? It would be nice to see Paul again too."

"Sounds great, Dad. I'll tell Paul you miss him."

Her father chuckled good naturedly before the two said their goodbyes.

  


Charlotte remembered meeting Paul as if it were yesterday. She had been 5, and had come to visit her father for the summer because, as much as she would scream and cry and punch and kick, Renée refused to allow her eldest child to live with her father full time, at least until she was 10.

Her father refused to let her play with the Black twins that year because the previous year Charlotte had pushed both girls in a fit of anger and they'd cried endlessly about it.

Billy thought they'd had it coming, but Charlie was not amused. This resulted in him asking Billy about other kids her age that she could play with when he brought her to La Push with him, kids that would be 'more durable' in her father's words, meaning kids that could take being physical and could be physical right back.

Billy had given Charlie the Cameron's phone number, stating that their son Jared was a very calm boy, who could take a punch without feeling the need to retaliate. And thus, the next summer Charlotte spent with Jared Cameron, while little Isabella got to take her place playing with Rachel and Rebecca.

Charlotte had shown up early to the Cameron house one day, only to find out Jared was hanging out with his cousin. She'd been upset about her mom refusing to listen to her yet again, and was angry that her friend wasn't there when she wanted him to be. So she stormed off towards the beach, only to find Jared and his cousin there, laughing and rough housing like she and Jared normally would. Little Charlie got so angry that she charged the unknown boy, knocking him over, before she sat on his chest and refused to get up.

Jared backed away from the pair, eyes as wide as saucers, holding his hands up in a placating manner. He knew both of them well enough to know this wouldn't end well. And on any other day it wouldn't have.

But that day was different. 

Paul was too shocked to get angry. The small girl seated on his chest was feisty, her silver eyes alight with an anger he'd never seen in any one else before. He almost couldn't believe that the tiny palefaced girl was capable of such strong emotion. In fact, he wouldn't have believed it if such emotion hadn't tackled him and sat on him before he could even think about getting up.

Paul was impressed by the girl, he felt as though she would understand him if he got angry around her. He was so unused to people standing their ground around him. He may not know why this girl was so enraged at him, but in that moment he didn't care. He felt a surge of respect for this girl, and decided to raise his arms above his head as a sign of defeat.

Charlie grinned wildly at the boy trapped under her, quickly introducing herself before jumping up and racing off. Paul watched as she ran towards Jared and knocked him down too, laughing the whole way down. He quickly joined in on the fun, and soon the trio were having the time of their little 5 year old lives.

From that day on they were practically inseparable.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uploading this at 12:50 AM because I have insomnia and have also been writting for almost 2 hours straight. I literally just wrote at least half of this chapter i the last two hours, but I'm proud of how it turned out so I don't care.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Dad says he misses you” Charlie giggled, watching Paul as he cut vegetables. It was the one day per week that they didn’t have dinner at Sam and Emily’s house. Granted, Monday nights were normally the nights that Charlie spent with her father, and, since she moved back, Bella.

The day Bella arrived in Forks, Charlotte had decided to stay at the Swan residence for a week so she could spend as much time with her sister as possible. She’d moved out the year before, after an argument with her father.

When Bella started hanging out with the Cullens, Charlie knew something was up, not because her sister was hanging out with the Cullens, but because her sister started acting strange. Charlotte didn’t even need to live in the Swan house full time to know that her sister was being shady. When she finally got to meet the boy that had taken up most of Bella’s free time, she instantly disliked him.

Edward hadn’t much liked her either, but he had to suck it up and deal with it. Both Charlie and Charlotte were glad that he was gone, even if they were furious over the state he left Bella in. Charlotte knew that if mister emo sparkles ever showed his face in Forks again, she would tear him to pieces. She didn’t care how indestructible he was, she would kill him on the spot for what he put Bella through.

Paul chuckled at the relayed message. Charlie always enjoyed the sound of his laughter. It's easy to make him mad, anger has always been his go-to emotion. But when he laughed, it was always a genuine moment of joy, and she felt it in her soul every time she saw a smile grace her best friend's face. Paul was easy to anger even before he phased, but now he flies off the handle so often that she’s surprised no one has phoned the police yet to complain about an angry Paul running around nude and several sightings of a very large very angry wolf prowling around close to the rez.

Growing up, everyone on the rez used to tease her by calling Paul her boyfriend, and all her peers in Forks actually thought they had been. Jared, and now Sam, have continued to use it to tease the pair, Granted, they did live together, and they’ve always been very close, they’ve been protective of each other since the first day they met. At this point, someone calling them boyfriend and girlfriend wouldn’t get much of a rise out of them, just an eye roll, shoulder shrug, or a headshake. They knew they weren’t together like that, and had quit caring about what people thought they were long ago.

Paul had to leave before they finished cooking dinner to go meet up with Sam, deciding to take Charlotte’s monster of a truck instead of his own vehicle. He also could’ve run there, but Paul was too lazy. He was also obsessed with Charlotte’s truck, so much so that he drove it almost twice as much as she did. So when she had a moment of panic, an instinctive chill racing down her spine, screaming at her to get the hell over to the Black’s house as soon as possible, Charlie knew she’d kill Paul for making her take one of the bikes out without the proper equipment. She didn’t feel as though she had time to put on her helmet, though she stopped to put one on anyways, cursing Paul out the whole time for taking her baby instead of running, that lazy ass fucking wolf.

  


Bella was pissed. Bella was being lied to. Jake was lying to her. Charlotte was lying to her. Billy was lying to her. She’s not a child, she knows something is going on. Something was going on and it had to with Jake and Sam’s gang and her sister. So she’d gone down to La Push to find someone, anyone, she doesn’t care who she found as long as they had answers. She was storming her way out of the Black household when Sam and two very large, yet vaguely familiar guys, along with what looked like a taller and more muscular Embry, had come strutting towards her.

She heard the growl of a motorcycle somewhere in the distance, getting steadily closer, but chose to ignore it in favour of slapping the angry man before her in the face. Before she could freak out or start yelling at them again, the one she’d hit started shaking so violently, she almost worried he would fall over. What she wasn’t expecting was for him to turn into a giant silver wolf, nor was she expecting the motorcycle she’d heard earlier to go roaring past her, turning sharply and stopping abruptly in front of the wolf.

The instant the motorcycle rider had cut the engine, the boys all took a large step backwards, even the wolf looked cowed by whoever had just appeared out of practically nowhere. Bella could tell it was a female, someone of a similar size and stature to herself. If Bella didn’t know any better, she’d think it was Charlie. The woman ripped her helmet off, back towards Bella as she threw her helmet behind her. The moment the short haired woman began speaking, Bella knew she should’ve known better to think it _wasn’t_ her sister.

“What the fuck is going on here, Sam?” Charlotte shouted at the large male. Sam physically backpedalled, arms coming up in surrender as the small girl stormed forward. “In Paul’s defence, Bella slapped him.” It came out in a bit of a rush, but as soon as Charlie heard him, she froze. Pivoting on the spot, Charlie turned her livid expression onto her sibling. “You. Did. What.” she breathed, almost not daring to speak above a whisper. It was Bella’s turn to shrink back from Charlie. “Yeah,” she said softly, “I slapped him, but he was being an ass.” she defended. Charlie rolled her eyes, all the tension seeping out of her body in an instant. “Of course he was, Bella,” she chuckled, “It’s Paul, he’s always like that.”

Bella was flabbergasted. _This_ is Paul? _The_ Paul? The one Charlotte moved in with before Bella’s arrival in Forks? At least the fact that Charlotte had never introduced them to one another up until now finally made sense. Charlotte turned back to the silver wolf that was her room mate, walking over and hugging the horse sized beast, speaking softly, soothingly to him, running a hand through his soft fur. Bella was shocked to see her sister looking so at ease with such a strange creature. The other male, the one she hadn’t learned the name of had walked up to Bella, watching the interaction between the human and wolf as intently as Bella was.

“They seem odd now, but you get used to it.” He said, not taking his eyes off the pair. Bella turned to look at the male beside her, confused as to what his relation was to her sister. “I’m Jared, by the way,” he said, offering his hand to her. “Jared Cameron.” She put her hand in his. He had a firm handshake. “Oh, _you’re_ Jared?” the older male chuckled, finding her reactions to be absolutely priceless. “The two of you make quite a pair,” he claimed, still laughing softly to himself. “Little Charlie runs with wolves, her little sister runs with vampires.” He elaborated, seeing the confusion colouring her face. No matter how she felt about everything else she’d found out today, Bella decided she liked Jared, he was fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like this, please tell me!  
If you don't like this, please tell me why!  
If you want me to stop, good luck!
> 
> This fic is literally all I can think about while I'm at work, so we'll see how far I get into this, and hopefully I won't lose interest in it.


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come get y'all juice.

_The silver eyed huntress sat astride her companion, racing through the forest in the darkness. Bow in hand, a quiver equipped with arrows made for piercing supernatural skin strapped across her back. The other wolves had Joined in chasing after the vamp, seeing only flashes of fiery red hair. Arrows whistling softly as they sailed past the maroon eyed nomad, missing her by a hair._

_The vampire had come to scout, see how far the wolves' territory extended. What she hadn't expected was to come across a human whose features almost completely matched that of her target. This human was as short and pale as the Swan girl,hair seeming to be the same rich brown colour. Though this human had her hair cut, falling to about her shoulders, at least it would if it weren't for the dual braids she had it in. Not to mention her eyes. Instead of chocolate brown, this human's eyes were a very light, striking grey that seemed to pierce the soul. _

_To find this girl sitting in a clearing well past midnight, armed, and leaning against one of the aforementioned wolves was even more shocking to Victoria._

_She hadn't expected the audible gasp that escaped her mouth at the sight, resulting in both the girl and the wolf snapping their gazes towards her._

_And thus the chase began._

  


Bella watched in horror and awe as Charlie smacked Paul on the arm once he’d phased back. “This the last time I’m letting you take Dorothy anywhere. I had to ride a god damn motorbike in my shorts, Paul, shorts!” He chuckled, shoving her shoulder playfully. “Oh fuck off with that. I know you love me, truck thievery and all.” Charlotte responded by jumping on his back, both laughing as Paul grabbed onto her legs and ran into the house in front of them.

Seeing as Bella now knew about their secret, she got invited over to Sam’s house to hang out with the wolf pack. Hesitantly stepping over the threshold after her sister, she was met with a very welcoming, cozy home. And an entire wolf pack.

She knew Jacob and Embry, even kind of knew Sam, and she’d just properly met Jared and Paul because even if they were Charlie’s best friends, she’d only ever seen them at a distance until today. But other than Charlotte, she didn’t know any of the humans, the girls seemed friendly enough though. She learned that the one with the scars across her face was Sam’s Fiancée, Emily. And that the shy one, Kim, was Jared’s mate. Emily and Kim were easy to be around. The same could almost be said of Charlotte, if only she’d stop making ridiculous faces every time Bella made eye contact, even going so far as to playfully flip her off a few times.

At one point Bella caught Paul looking at her, muttering something under his breath. Instantly all the wolves in the room stiffened, glancing warily from her to Paul, then Charlie. For her part, Charlotte looked pissed at the man beside her, like she was moments away from hitting him.

She very much was.

Charlie cuffed Paul on the back of the head as hard as she could, uncaring of the damage potentially done to her hand. “What did I say about calling her that, Paul?” She asked incredulously. She was livid, and everyone knew it. “Bella’s name isn’t ‘Leech Lover’, and it’ll do you well to remember that. If I ever hear you, any of you, call her that again, I swear I won’t hesitate when I tear your throats out with my bare hands.”

Everyone stared for a moment, before slowly jumping back into conversation, acting as though her sister hadn’t just threatened to kill an entire wolf pack for calling Bella names.

The Paul incident aside, Charlotte was pleasantly surprised by how easily everyone warmed up to Bella. The girls had taken to the younger Swan almost instantly, the rest of the pack occasionally jumping into the conversation, cracking jokes and sharing their opinions. If only her father were here, Charlotte would be able to say that her entire family, blood relation or not, was all in one place. The pack was her family just as much as Bella and Charlie always had been.

  


Bella knew her sister had trouble sleeping, she'd heard Renée on the phone with a frantic Charlie at 2 am more than once when she was younger. Renée explained that Charlotte would get vivid nightmares involving vampires and werewolves when she was little, that no matter how many times she was told they didn't exist and they couldn't hurt her, she was spooked. Not only had Charlotte been afraid to sleep due to her nightmares, but she'd wanted to defend herself if they came for her.

Renée had put her daughter in karate, kickboxing, wrestling, boxing, anything she could think of to ease her daughter's mind and maybe help her sleep at night. But while the fighting and self defence lessons had helped improve the girl's mental state, she'd never quite grasped the ability to sleep a full 8 hours.

Eventually Charlotte decided to start practicing in the time she spent awake. She would walk around with the lights off in the middle of the night, punching and kicking at nothing. Fighting an enemy that wasn’t there. Finally, Renée bought her a punching bag to spar with on nights like this.

Figuring Charlotte just needed a change of pace, their mother had decided to send her eldest daughter to camp one year, and Charlotte had loved it. Not for the people she'd met, though she met some great people, or being away from her family for a month.

Charlie had fallen in love with the archery range.

So when Bella woke up just past midnight to find herself still on Charlotte and Paul's couch following the previous nights impromptu movie night, she knew her sister well enough to know she wasn’t sleeping, even if she couldn’t hear someone outside. Bella decided to follow the soft grunting she heard towards the back of the house.

Charlie was standing on the back deck in the darkness, shoulder-length hair in a loose bun hastily thrown atop her head, kicking the bag with a surprising amount of force. She was grunting and muttering to herself as she went.

"Thought the vampire drama would've left with the Cullens."

Growl.

"But no."

Punch.

"Just when I finally got Izzy back."

Kick. Grunt.

“‘They aren’t real sweetie, go back to sleep.’ Fuck you, Mom.”

Punch. Growl. Kick.

“Can’t get more real than this.”

She gave one final punch and, with a cry of anguish, sank to the deck floor. Charlotte put her head in her hands and laughed darkly. “As if I didn’t already have to deal with pulling my sister out of a vampire ex-boyfriend induced funk, an entire wolf pack, my best friends both being a part of said wolf pack, not to mention that I have a reputation to maintain as the police chief's eldest daughter.

“Oh, and I still have no clue about how I feel about Paul, or how Paul feels about me, or why that even matters when we have that red headed vampire playing some sick game and toying with the pack as though she’s just biding her time, waiting for us to make a mistake.”

Charlotte turned sharply at the sound of Bella’s gasp, but Bella wasn’t paying her any attention. “Victoria,” She breathed, legs collapsing under her as she joined her sister on the deck. “She’ll kill me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with this so far! I'm so excited that people are enjoying this as much as I am!  
I know it probably seems short, but I've been writing, rewriting, and editing this for days now. I'm very proud of it, and am super excited to start writing the next part. 
> 
> Don't be afraid to tell me what you think of it! Promise I don't bite... much.  
Seriously though, I'd love to hear from you guys.


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sat down at my computer and this basically decided to write itself. Whoops?
> 
> Not exactly the direction I'd been planning to take this chapter, but I'm still happy with where it ended up, so hope you enjoy it!

As Bella finally came back to her senses, she realised she was in a very large vehicle, and that Charlotte was at the wheel. Remembering the fit Charlie had last month when Paul had driven her truck to Sam and Emily's house, she suspected that this was the behemoth her sister oh so lovingly named Dorothy.

Bella didn’t know how or when or even why she was in her sister’s beloved truck as she’d zoned out after she’d fallen to her knees, consumed by thoughts of Victoria and the wolf pack. She’d been swept up in the possibilities, the potential tragedies yet to unfold, and hadn’t noticed when her sister scooped her up and carried her to the truck, and buckled Bella into the front passenger seat before walking over to the drivers side and climbing in for herself. Bella had been so out of it that she only just realised that Charlie was singing absently along to the song emanating from the speakers.

Charlotte noticed her sister tense up in the seat beside her, and though she didn’t know what had caused it, she was also grateful that she seems to have come back from her panicked spiral. “We’re almost at Sam’s, Izzy.” She said softly. Bella nodded tersely. Charlie sighed internally. She hated seeing her little sister like this, and she knew the boys did too. Looking at the clock on the dashboard, she nearly swore aloud. 1:34 am. This was gonna be a long night.

“I already called and told Sam why we’re coming over.” Bella nodded again, she was getting used to her elder sister’s Blink-182 CD playing in the background once the initial shock of the music had worn off. She had stopped listening to her own music when the Cullens had left. It reminded her too much of _him_ and that alone had hurt. She’d forgotten how diverse music was. Bella liked the way this music sounded, it was loud and in your face, but it was a complex mix of emotions too. It was a life lived fast, loud, rebellious. It was the exact opposite of Edward, and she was shocked to find that that was part of why she loved it. “Are the others going to be there too? If I’m going to explain all this vampire drama, I’d rather not have a repeat performance.”

Charlie laughed boisterously at Bella’s response. Her sister was finally back.

  


“The Cullen’s killed James, and thought that was the end of it. Laurent proved them wrong when he’d shown up in the clearing that one day and told me about Victoria’s plan to get revenge on Edward for killing her mate, before he decided to take that from her.” Bella explained to a room full of silent wolves. No one had dared to even move since the girl had begun speaking.

“He’d come to scout for her, but decided he wanted to make me a meal instead. If the pack hadn’t shown up, I would be dead by now.” She breathed out shakily, “I don’t think I ever thanked you for that, so um, thanks for saving my life.” Paul puffed his chest out proudly. He’d been sure to tear the leech apart as much as he could before burning him to ash. No one touches the Swan family and gets away with it, not on his watch.

Paul had a soft spot for Charlie, and he knew how much her family meant to her. He still felt guilty over her moving in with him, though that Newton kid had had it coming for a long time. Charlotte had dragged Paul into the Newton’s store with her to buy a pair of black steel toe combat boots that she’d had them order in for her, she’d fallen in love with them the instant she’d seen them, and was ecstatic to find they’d fit like they were made for her. They’d just purchased the boots and had been on their way out of the store when Mike walked in.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” The twerp drawled, “the whore of La Push. On a walk with her sugar daddy?” The boy laughed at his own joke. He didn’t have much opportunity to enjoy his cruelty however. Because Charlotte retaliated, punching him in the nose. The rings on her fingers combined with the rage fueling the blow had managed to break the boy's nose, but that wasn’t enough to satisfy Paul, so he punched the kid in the ear for good measure. Charlotte, believing that enough damage had already been done, had turned on her heel and punched Paul.

Unfortunately, that had resulted in a broken hand, which Chief Swan had blamed Paul for. It wasn’t the most accurate statement, Paul hadn’t broken Charlie’s hand, Charlie had broken her hand on Paul. Nevertheless, Charlotte had a broken hand and a protective father. He’d told her she couldn’t see Paul again, especially if it would lead to her getting hurt, and Paul had agreed with him. But Charlotte wasn’t having it. She screamed and cried, begged and pleaded, argued and compromised, but Chief Swan wouldn’t budge. A month went by without change, and that’s when Charlie’d had enough. She packed up her belongings while her father was at work. She left a note on the kitchen table along with her key to the house before hopping in Dorothy.

Charlie Senior had called Billy after work that day and explained the situation to his friend. When Billy Black stood outside Paul’s house, demanding to speak with Charlotte, Paul got so angry that he’d marched out the front door and yelled at the Elder before him about the fact that he’d agreed with Charlie, but he wasn’t going to take away Charlotte’s freedom over it. Paul would’ve been able to keep his cool if Charlotte hadn’t rushed out in tears, begging Billy to let her stay in La Push. That had been the final straw for Paul, who had been shaking violently since Charlie had walked out the front door. He had enough sense to know something was happening and had barely made it past Billy and onto the driveway before he phased. That had been enough for Billy, apparently, because he’d left shortly after, calling Sam to help Paul phase back. They’d been living together ever since.

Once Bella had finished telling the pack about why one shouldn’t run with vampires, Sam gathered the wolves in his kitchen to discuss strategy, with the exception of Paul, who was too busy making sure the Swans were okay to even notice that everyone else had vacated the living room. Sam was still at least half convinced that Paul had imprinted on Charlie, though he couldn’t say for sure. He hadn’t been close to either of them growing up, but Leah had been friends with Charlotte, and had told him plenty of times, before he’d phased, that the two of them had been mooning over each other since they first met, but were both too stubborn to realize that they liked one another. They danced around their feelings whenever the feelings popped up, explained it away as friendship, refusing to see what was right in front of them. Sometimes, Sam just wanted to shove their heads together and tell them to just kiss already. But he didn’t, because as frustrating as they could be, he had no place in their relationship. They’d have to figure it out on their own.

Eventually.

_Hopefully._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally wrote this entire chapter in a few hours. Normally it takes me longer.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it, but please don't expect two updates in two days from me ever because this ther first and probably last time that will ever happen lmao. 
> 
> Anyways, please tell me what you think of it! I'd love to hear from you.
> 
> And if you noticed any errors, please tell me so I can fix them.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The long night continues. Charlie has a break down. Also Mike gets put in his place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the chapter that completely wrote it's damn self. 
> 
> I don't know why I feel the constant need to decribe Dorothy, especially when I don't really give any more information about Dorothy, but I love her.
> 
> Hope you enjoy the new update!

Charlotte found it amusing to watch Paul fuss over Bella. It was nice to see Paul genuinely cared about her family's well being. Charlie had assumed all those months ago that Paul had been happy about Laurent's death because he'd gotten to kill a leech, but seeing how he cared for and doted on Bella, she realized now that it was killing two birds with one stone. Paul had chased after Laurent to protect a Swan. The fact that Paul would protect her sister even if he called her a leech lover spoke volumes to Charlie. Her heart leaped joyously at the thought, then promptly sank. _Oh shit, I’m in love with Paul Lahote._

Charlotte needed to go somewhere, do something. She needed to get out of the house or she might just explode. “Has anyone informed the Elders of this yet? Because I think they deserve to know what’s going on.” she said in a matter-of-fact tone. “No, but I’ll be sure to tell Billy all about it when I get home.” Jacob replied, dismissive. “Perfect, I’ll drive you home then.” Charlie smiled at the large teen, grabbing her keys and walking out the door before he had the opportunity to protest.

Charlie didn't stop to check if the Quileute Chief's son was behind her or not, she just walked over to her gentle giant and hopped in, slamming the door behind her. She had her head on the wheel when Jacob finally swung himself up into the truck. Without lifting her head off the wheel, Charlie turned to face him. He was alarmed to see the vulnerability in her features. It was rare for Jacob to see Charlotte so open, and he was terrified by what he saw. Her silver eyes didn't hold their usually ever-present gleam, instead they held pain and defeat. Jake didn't know what the hell had happened, but he knew he hated seeing Charlie like this.

"Why'd it have to be him." She groaned, finally peeling her face off of the truck, looking away from the boy beside her as she began to drive. "What?" Jake asked, perplexed.

"Paul. I- I love him."

"Well duh."

"No, dumb fuck, I _love_ Paul."

"Yeah, I know."

"You _what?!_"

Charlie pulled over sharply onto the side of the road. They hadn't even made it 5 minutes down the road, but that didn't stop her from turning the key in the ignition and jumping out of Dorothy. "C'mon, Boy-o, we're taking a detour." She said before shutting the door. Charlotte waited for Jacob to get out of her truck before locking it and walking past him into the forest.

Jacob trudged after Charlie as she marched through the forest. He wasn't sure know how she didn't trip at this time of night, according to her truck's dashboard it was 4 am, and yet Charlie could navigate the forest as though it was midday and sunny. She walked until the road dissappeared from sight, then walked some more. Suddenly, Charlotte came to an abrupt stop, forcing Jacob to take a step back in order to not run into her. He watched as Charlie sank to her knees and let out a guttural yell so loud it woke up the forest around them. 

Jacob didn’t know what to do when Charlie began sobbing uncontrollably. Charlotte always hated showing emotion in front of people she doesn’t trust implicitly, and Jacob understood that to some extent. So he decided to sit on the soft earth beside her and wrap his arms around her, silently praying that this memory would be one that the pack was never privy to.

  


Charlotte had called her dad last night after Bella passed out on her couch to make sure he wasn’t panicking over Bella’s whereabouts, and to mention that she’d be dropping her sister off at school. So there she was, pulling into Forks High School’s parking lot on a Monday morning, _Best Damn Thing_ by Avril Lavigne blaring through Dorothy’s speakers as she circled the lot for a place to park.

“You’d think people would get out of the way of such a huge fuck ass truck, but no,” Charlie groaned, “they just oggle it and almost crash into my precious baby in the process” Tyler swerved to aviod the black elephantine mass of metal on wheels and Charlie flipped him off. Finally spotting a parking space, Charlie gunned the engine, knowing that some other snot nosed student would take it if she didn’t. The person she happened to cut off was a very sickeningly familiar blond.

Charlotte couldn’t help herself, she’d had a bad fucking night, okay? Besides, she was a bit of a tease. As Bella stepped out of the truck, she looked over to see her sister’s door was open and Charlie was hanging out of the towering truck, shouting at the boy pulling in across from them.

“Hey, Newton!” She called, stifling a laugh as the blond spun around to face them and instantly paled. “I see you still have a nose! What a pity,” She tutted, “I’ll be sure to hit you harder next time you think it's a good idea to call me a whore.” And with that, she flipped him off too, before swiftly launching herself into her beloved Dorothy and taking off in a squeal of rubber and Avril Lavigne’s voice exclaiming she’s “the best damn thing that your eyes have ever seen” at top volume over the roar of the V8 engine.

This was the Charlie the world saw. The Charlie that listens to music as loud as she can. Who wears what she wants when she wants to. The one that cuts her hair because someone tells her she should grow it out. Who doesn’t wear lipstick unless it’s an odd shade that pisses people off. The Charlie that got a tattoo when she was 16 without her dad knowing. The Charlie that gave society the middle finger at any and every opportunity possible.

Not the blubbering mess she was a few hours before, falling apart over stress and lack of sleep and being in love with her best friend. The Charlie that sobbed and snotted all over her sister’s best friend in the woods at 4am. Who was carried back to her truck and driven to the Black’s house by Jacob. The Charlie who poured her heart out to the only person around who could possibly understand. The one that greeted Billy with a tired, weary approximation of a smile. The Charlie that didn’t say a word to anyone. Who took a nap on Billy’s couch at 4 am.

People were horrible enough to her already, she didn’t need them to see her like that.  
Because fuck Mike Newton and the horse he rode in on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only realized after I finished writing this that this is all one night for the most part. Oops. Not changing that though because I started writing this at work and have spent the past 4 hours since getting home working on this.  
So y'all get what y'all get. 
> 
> And yeah, I call people Boy-o sometimes. Idk why, I just do.
> 
> Also, I know Best Damn Thing came out in 2007. But do I care? No.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> As always, feedback is always welcome. I love hearing what you think!


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please make sure you are strapped in securely. Please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. And most importantly, enjoy the ride! :)

After Charlie had roared out of the school parking lot, Bella knew her wishes of a quiet morning were dead. Mike didn’t know how to respond to someone singling him out in such a crass and violent manor, so he stood frozen in place as his face turned beet red. The rest of the students didn’t know whether to watch Bella’s reaction or Mike’s. Charlie was like a hurricane, and the silence of her aftermath was deafening. Bella didn’t want to deal with the chaos that would inevitably ensue once everyone’s shock wore off. She quickly walked toward the building she had first period in.

  


Lunch was a trainwreck, as Bella knew it would be. She sat at her usual table in silence as Mike griped about her sister. “She’s crazy, I swear. I didn’t even call her that, why would I call the police chief’s daughter a whore?”

“Because she is one” Lauren Mallory added snidely.

Bella was seeing red. How dare they think they could get away with calling her older sister a liar and a whore. Before Bella got the chance to speak, however; Angela called them out on their bullshit.

“Mike, I was there when you called her that, don’t try to get out of this. And Lauren, really? He could’ve just as easily said the same about you, and regardless of how true it is or isn’t, You should know better than to perpetuate that sort of hate against another woman. I thought you were better than that, so thank you for proving me wrong.” And with that, Angela stood up swiftly. Grabbing her and Bella’s lunch trays, she indicated with her head that there was a vacant table across the room they could sit at. Bella was quick to follow, knowing if she remained much longer she would likely explode.

  


“You can’t stay here forever, Junior.”

_Fucking watch me._

"Everyone falls off of the fucking turnip truck, Billy.”

“That they do. But they also get their asses back on the turnip truck and off my damn couch.”

Charlie groaned, all anger draining from her in an instant. She still took her sweet ass time getting off of the couch. “Sorry.” She grumbled, abashed.  
Charlotte had gone over to Jared 's house after dropping Bella off yesterday, and was so exhausted she passed out on the nest of blankets she'd made for herself on the floor of his living room. Jared chuckled to himself when he registered the soft snores emitting from his friend.

Jared had let her sleep, and for once that's exactly what she did. Charlie was so drained that she slept through the entire day on the Cameron's living room floor in a pile of blankets and pillows. For once, her mind didn't torment her with endless nightmares, in fact Charlie didn't dream at all. The only reason Charlotte woke up before noon the next day was because Jared nudged her awake and handed her a plate of food he'd made for her before kissing her forehead on his way out the door for patrols.

Charlie wasn't willing to risk overstaying her welcome, so after quickly eating the breakfast Jared had made her and making a thank you note for him, she decided to walk over to the Black's house. She knew Jacob was worried about her after she fell apart in the forest, and knew he wouldn't be happy until he saw her for his own two eyes.

When Billy informed her of Jacob's whereabouts, mentioning that his friend, Quil, had phased and that he was somewhere in the forest trying to get him to phase back, she got grumpy. The irony of the situation served to piss her off further.  
Thus Charlotte found herself laying on the couch and watching last week's episode of that new show 'Supernatural'. Under all the grouchy anger, she could admit that part of her really liked this show, and really hoped it got picked up for a second season.

Billy had come in after a few hours of Charlie hogging his couch and finally put his foot down, so to speak. He wanted his couch back, dammit! First Jake and his friends, then the wolf pack, and now this? He just wanted to sit and watch the game.  
Charlotte was still cantankerous, but she understood where Billy was coming from.

She decided to go take a walk through the forest to clear her head before heading home to chase whatever girl Paul had screwed the night before out of the house. She knew how Paul worked, and he'd be upset at her for not coming home last night, so she knew he'd found someone to sleep with, because he liked to show he cared about her by pissing her off. He'd been this way since high school. And since those days, Charlie would always antagonise Paul, playing _'Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?'_ by Shania Twain on repeat. Typically it was meant as good natured teasing, but she felt as though this time might have a bit more accusation behind it than normal.  
Putting her steel toe combat boots back on, Charlie trudged to the edge of the Black's property, letting out a long-suffering sigh as she set foot into the familiar woods.

  


_Victoria wasn't sure how she'd never smelled the strange human she'd encountered in the forest. Even her target still had a distinctive scent, though it was dampened by the overbearing _au de wet dog._ She'd resorted to rifling through school records and student files in order to figure out who this young woman even was._

_Normally she wouldn't bother going to such extremes, after all, who cares about one human having no discernable scent? But this human unnerved Victoria. The hunter's presence screamed _Danger!_ in a way no other human could, a way that no human _should._ Victoria found her to be almost as frightening as the enormous wolves the young huntress ran with._

_Saying Victoria was surprised when she came upon Charlotte-Anne Swan, the silver eyed huntress that haunted her thoughts, wandering alone in the woods would be an understatement.  
Charlotte had her back to the vampire, and was so deep in thought she didn't notice her hair standing on end until it was too late._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been struggling to write this chapter all this week, but inpiration for the ending struck while I was at work, so here we are! Sorry if it was a little all-over-the-place, I was having some difficulty with this one, but I like it regardless.
> 
> Despite my best efforts, I fear I am losing my fucking mind.  
Whoops.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy the newest enstallment of Running With Wolves, and if you don't like Shania Twain you can get outta my god damn house.
> 
> No, seriously. You can leave. It's you or her, and my love for Shania Twian's music is going nowhere.


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go again! Hope y'all brought popcorn, cause I'm about to be dramatic as hell.
> 
> It's a bit shorter than normal, but it's full of panic and terror, so hopefully that makes up for it!

If Charlie had been paying attention, Victoria would've gotten kicked in the face with a steel toe boot. If she'd noticed the warning signs, Charlotte would've turned on the spot and sparred with the vampire. It would've been a battle like no other; huntress versus huntress. Victoria would've met her match in the small spit-fire. It would've been a close call; who would've claimed victory? The two women could've circled each other, snarling, hair whipping wildly in the wind, for hours on end.

But Charlotte wasn't paying attention, too lost in her own mind to notice the scarlet haired vampire stalking ever closer behind her. Charlie didn't notice until she was screaming in agony, pain radiating from a wound in the juncture of her shoulder and neck. In some part of her mind she was dimly aware that she'd collapsed on the forest floor, but the rest of her was too focused on the excruciating pain raging throughout her body to care.

  


Paul had been called in to cover Jacob's shift. The soon-to-be-alpha was supposed to be the one patrolling with Jared, but he and Embry were currently attending to their partner in crime, Quil Ateara, who had just phased for the first time that morning. Paul didn't really care about new pack members at the moment, he'd been too busy worrying over Charlotte's whereabouts.

Paul felt as though he had a right to worry about her, more than anyone else in the pack did. Sure, the boys all saw Charlotte as a sister, and as a member of the pack. She was above Emily and Kim, and Bella now too, because she was a hunter just as they were. Charlie was seen as another wolf to them.  
But to Paul she was more than that. He’d been in love with her probably since the day he met her, if he’s being honest. 

Charlie hadn't been home since their movie night with Bella, and from what he could gather from the rest of the pack, she'd been acting strange, she'd been oddly somber, as though she was in mourning.

_If Charlie wanted you to worry, she'd tell you to. Calm the hell down before you run off a cliff, dude._

Realizing that he was, in fact, about to go over the edge of a cliff, he veered sharply to his right. Jared's voice was reassuring in his head. Paul knew the other wolf had a point, but that didn't stop the voice in the back of his head telling him to go find her. If anything, the voice was getting louder by the minute, now accompanied by a feeling deep in his bones screaming at him to go protect his Charlie. He wasn't sure how he knew which way to go, but he was bounding through the woods at top speed mere moments before a blood curdling scream pierced the morning air.

He knew that voice, just as he knew without having to check that Jared was hot on his heels. Their girl was in danger. 

  


It felt as though she was both burning alive and freezing to death simultaneously. Charlotte’s ears were ringing almost violently, and though she knew her eyes were open, she couldn’t see a thing. _What the fuck is going on?_ What little of her rational side remained knew exactly what was going on. Did it want to share with the class though? Hell no. Charlie could do without knowing she was laying in the woods in the most torturous agony imaginable because that pain-in-the-ass, revenge driven _mosquito_ just had to bite her.

What Victoria didn’t know was that no one messed with the Swan family. Not only because the Swan’s could take care of their own, but if anyone made the mistake of messing with any of the Swan’s, you’d have a whole wolf pack- or at the very least an entire ‘cult’ of super tall, super buff native boys, each and every one of them built like a brick shit house- to answer to. And today was no exception.

Jacob was off like a shot the instant he heard the bone chilling scream, telling Quil he’d be back and leaving Embry behind as he raced through the forest towards Sam and Emily’s house. He knew Jared and Paul would be thinking solely about Charlotte, but knew they would need back up. He phased back and only barely remembered to pull on his cutoffs before barreling into the house.

“What the hell, kid? You trying to pull my front door off its hinges?”

Jacob waved Sam’s comment off. “Paul and Jared need back up. We don’t know what happened yet, but,” Jake paused to breathe and collect his thoughts “Charlie’s in trouble, Sam.”

That’s all Sam needed to hear, running full tilt into the bush and phasing the instant he was in the treeline, uncaring of the shredded shorts falling to the damp earth. One of their own was in jeopardy and he’d be damned if he wasn’t there to help.

Even before they reached her, Paul knew Charlotte wasn’t okay. He had a feeling that whatever happened would be irrevocable, there would be no going back now. She was in agony, and it wouldn’t relinquish it’s hold on her. He knew that Charlie- his Charlie- wouldn’t be the same ever again. And that terrified him more than anything else ever could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back baby!
> 
> Apparently, the only thing you need to do in order to get back into the swing of things is to put the characters that you love and care for so, so much in grave danger or extreme peril. How fun!
> 
> Either way, I found this chapter a lot easier to write than the last two. I feel like I'm back on track now. Also, this particular idea popped into my head a few days ago and wouldn't leave me alone, so Charlie done got bit. Oops?
> 
> If you enjoyed it, please tell me.  
If you think I could improve, please explain wha needs improvement.  
If you hate it, why are you still here? But also tell me what you hate about it.  
If you want to say something, but don't know what to say; hello is a good place to start, you can figure it out from there.
> 
> I'd love to hear what y'all think. Seeing a new comment on my fics will always put a smile on my face.


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What has gotten into me recently? Three chapters in three days? From my me? It's more likely than you think.

Paul phased back the instant he saw Charlotte. Shoving his shorts on, he raced towards her, sliding on his knees and stopping before her. She was writhing in anguish, paying no heed to the damp earth clinging to her. Paul reached out tentatively, brushing a hand across her cheek. As though sensing him, Charlie’s frantic movements slowed to a stop, head lolled towards him. Her eyes were glassy and unseeing, yet somehow locked onto his in an instant. The part that horrified him most though, had to be the moment her jaw dropped open and that same earth shattering wail escaped. 

But instead of recoiling, he lifted the small woman into his arms and carried the still-screaming Charlotte through the wilderness and into their house. Placing her gently on his bed, he brought her limp hand to his lips. Just like that, the screeching ceased. Charlotte’s mouth was still hanging open, but she made no sounds. Her eyes, now closed, were racing around frantically, and suddenly his hand was being crushed in her grip where he still held her. Charlie’s heart sped up, and up, and up, and up until it was beating almost to fast to even beat at all. Which of course is exactly what happened. One second she was holding his hand in such a brutal grip that he could feel the bones in his hand grinding together, and the next it was limp again as her heart finally succumbed to the bite.

Paul was knelt beside her, sobbing into her lifeless shoulder when he heard the one thing he didn’t think was possible in that instance. Charlotte’s heart gave a small stuttering beat before roaring back to life, and the girl Paul had been helplessly in love with for the last fifteen years gasped and sat upright in his bed.

  


Given the choice between endless anguish and endless darkness, most people would choose the latter. Charlie wasn’t most people. She’d choose pain over darkness any day; to feel pain was to be alive. You have to take the good with the bad, and if enduring this hell was the cost of living, then so be it. Charlotte didn’t know when the darkness had consumed her, but she knew it had and she wouldn’t stand for it. She pushed back against it with everything in her. She wasn’t going to let the darkness win. She wasn’t going to let _Victoria_ win. She would do what she was good at, fight for her life.

The instant her heart started again- it stopped? Yes, yes it had. It must’ve. Why else would it need to restart?- she sat bolt upright with a loud gasp. Taking in her surroundings, she quickly realized she was no longer in the woods like she expected, but instead found herself in Paul Lahote’s bed. “How, in the ever-loving fuck, did I get in the house?” She mused aloud.

A deep chuckle emanated from beside the bed. Turning, a little too fast for human capabilities, Charlie found a rugged looking Paul kneeling beside his bed. His warm eyes were puffy and red. Tears still fell freely down the man’s face as he gazed at Charlie in wonderment. His russet skin was covered in cuts and scrapes from running through the bush all day, but neither one really cared. “I carried you here from outside.” he said, not taking his eyes off of Charlotte. She didn’t know what she’d done to get such a look of reverence from the shifter, but she soaked it up while she could. So of course that’s when Bella, Embry, Quil, Jacob, Jared, and Sam loudly burst through the back door of the Swan/Lahote residence.

Bella was the first to reach them, followed but the herd of elephants Charlie considered family. The boys all stood in the doorway of Paul’s bedroom as Bella walked slowly towards her sister. She was the only one here to know the severity of the situation, the only one who had first hand experience of the pain her older sister suffered through. Bella had to throw it all out the window however, when Charlotte turned her head sharply to face the youngest Swan. Because, of course, her sister would be the exception to the rules. Chocolate brown met silvery grey and it was like time stopped. Bella was frozen in place, nearly two feet away, and promptly fainted.

Multiple people cursed at once, diving to catch the girl before she could do any damage to herself. To everyone’s surprise, Charlotte got there first, cradling her little sister in her arms as though she weighed nothing at all. The wolves were flabbergasted. The best guess any of them had was that the bite didn’t fully take. How else would someone as small as Charlie be supporting someone the same weight as her like it was nothing, and how had she gotten to Bella so fast? But her eyes were still the same erie silver they’d always been, and she hadn’t tried to take a bite out of anyone. What the fuck even was Charlie Swan junior?

A loud ringing broke through the tension like a knife. Before any of the boys could think to search for the source of the jarring noise, Charlotte had already pulled Bella’s phone out of the unconscious girl’s pocket.

“Bella’s phone, Charlie speaking.” The pack collectively held their breath.

“Hello Charlotte. I’m Alice, Alice Cullen.”

“Oh. Hello, Alice.” What Charlie meant to say was _"Go fuck a cactus, Alice."_

“Can I talk to your sister for a moment?”

“No, you can’t. She fainted.”

“She fainted? Is she alright? Do you know what caused it?”

“I don’t _know_, Cullen! She took one look at me and passed out.” Charlie was growling softly.

“Why would that be?” Alice was frustrated and confused.

“I was bitten.” Charlie was beyond irritated with the conversation by this point.

Alice gasped loudly, “Bitten by what?”

“The abominable snowman. What do you think, Alice? A vampire!”

“But who-”

“Try the revenge driven, scarlet haired nomad your coven somehow pissed off that's been hell-bent on killing my sister in order to get back at fucktard for whatever reason.” Charlie’s growling grew in volume and intensity, to the point where she was speaking through bared teeth by the end of it.

“Victoria” Alice deduced.

“Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner.” Charlotte snarked, snapping the phone closed and tossing it on the bed.

“Well, that was fun.” Quil qupped sarcastically.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter came about because I was listening to Shania Twain on repeat and felt inspired to write, so I started writing while listening to 'I'm Gonna Getcha Good' and switched to 'Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?' about halfway through. 
> 
> I've been writing this for hours now and have done little to no editing, so if you noice a typo of grammatic error, please point it out to me so I can fix it.
> 
> As always, thank you so much for reading! Please leave a comment and tell me what you think!
> 
> Peace out bitches!


	10. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tiny little chapter because i felt like it. Four chapters in four days. Let's get this breadstick baby!
> 
> Enjoy!

_Alice raced back to Forks as quickly as she could. She couldn’t see Bella. She couldn’t see anything past her arriving on the La Push reservation, driven by an overwhelming feeling that something was wrong, that Charlotte was in grave danger. Alice supposed that she had, in fact, been in grave danger, but there wasn’t much to be done about it now. Charlotte was one of them now. Or at the very least Charlotte wasn’t as human as she once was._ But was she ever fully human to begin with?_ Carlisle had a theory about the Swan family, and a theory about hunters as well._

_No ordinary humans can learn to properly hunt and kill vampires that quickly and successfully, though not for lack of trying. The humans try, and can’t quite manage it, but pass the knowledge down to their children in the hopes that they can do what their parents could not. As time goes on, these families adapt to a lifestyle of vampire hunting, they gain skills previous generations lacked._

_The newer hunters develop the ability to pick up skills quicker, they don’t give off a scent, they can see well in the darkness, and they can generally tell when something bad is about to happen. He also had a theory that these hunters can’t be turned; at least, not fully. It’s the biggest _fuck you_ a hunter could ever give. To be bitten and not turn, to be bitten and only get the benefits of vampire life without any of the pitfalls._

_Carlisle believes that the Swan family are part of the longest running line of vampire hunters, a family that dates back centuries.  
Alice agreed._

_But right now, Alice needed to make sure that Bella was okay._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is officially the longest thing I have ever written. Seriously. Also the fastest I've ever written anything. Holy crap am I ever proud of it.
> 
> This is the most self-indulgent fic I've ever written, and though I have very little feedback on this- which normally would really bum me out and make me feel like i'm terible at writing- I'm still inspired and still very hoprefull for the future of Running With Wolves.  
Seriously though, my brain has been giving me ideas involving the plot of eclipse all week and I aint there yet writing-wise so, yeah.
> 
> Thanks again for reading!
> 
> I'm sorry it's a little short; I'm bad at writting long chapters, but I'm getting better at it. Sometimes I just need to have a short chapter though.


	11. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween, bitches! 
> 
> Do I know how paragraphs work? I used to. I think I've forgotten, but oh well. I have no concern for what should and should not be a paragraph. English majors can die mad about it.
> 
> Enjoy!

Charlie could be bossy sometimes. The guys were used to Charlotte bossing them around, and usually ignore it or brush it off after a while. This time, however, it was welcomed with open arms.

“Sam, do patrols. Check on the Clearwaters too, I have a feeling something major is about to happen with them.” Sam nodded stiffly, exiting the house as soon as the task was given to him.

“Paul, take this,” Charlotte placed her sister’s unconscious body gently in his arms, “to my room, stay here and keep an eye on her.” Paul held Bella gingerly, kissing Charlie’s forehead before walking out of the room. “Embry, help Quil figure this shit out. Quil, if you feel confident in your abilities, you and Em should join Sam on patrols.” The boys nodded gravely and made their exit.

“Jake, take Dorothy, sit on the side of the road at the treaty line incase a Cullen shows up there.” Jacob stared at her in shock. The only people who drove the truck, after Charlie and Leah had rebuilt the engine and added a lift kit to it, were Charlotte and Paul. “Jacob! I’m not playing around, now get your ass out of my house.” She snapped, watching the boy jump in surprise. Finally he took his leave.

Slowly, she turned to the only wolf left in the room with her. “Jared,” her tone softened under his affectionate gaze. “I need my brother to come with me to Dad’s house.” Jared laughed, slinging a russet arm across her pale shoulders. “Need me to make sure you don’t kill her?” She laughed as they made their way into the garage. They each picked a motorcycle and sped off towards the house she grew up in.

  


Alice heard the thunderous roar way before the motorcycles arrived at the Swan household. The young adults hopped off the bikes as soon as they’d cut the engines; Jared and Charlie never bothered with helmets when leaving the house, knowing the devices would do nothing for them any longer.

Alice had been standing on the front porch awaiting their arrival. She had enough grace to respect that this wasn’t her house, and to treat it thusly. Unlike Edward, she actually had class. Charlie walked past the vampire as though she wasn’t even there, digging a key out of her pocket and strutting in with practiced ease. Jared stood at the entryway, holding the door open and motioning Alice forward, eyes glued to his feet as he waited for the small girl to sweep into the quaint home. He smelled strongly of wet dog, something Alice couldn’t quite shake.

“Let’s get this over with, shall we?” Ever the charmer, Charlotte Swan’s tone was gruff, her stance showed that she was ready to fight at any second if it came down to it. If it weren’t for the ghastly pale bite mark marring the girl’s neck, she would never believe for an instant that she was anything other than human. Her eyes were the same as they’d always been, according to her brother, and she was up and walking around the same day she’d been bitten. No vampire had ever had such a quick change; she should’ve been in unbearable pain right now.

Yet here she was, in all her idiosyncratic glory. The creature before her was unlike any she’d ever encountered, and that was saying something. Alice had a theory, at least, about the boy accompanying Charlotte. Her family had run into the Quileute wolves once before, it was very possible they had resurfaced, if the young man holding Charlie to him was anything to go by. “Jared, this is Alice Cullen. Alice, this is my brother, for all intents and purposes, Jared Cameron.” She’d her attempted formality was undercut by the unshakable severe note her voice had taken on.

“The sooner you tell us why you’re here, the sooner we can send you back to wherever the fuck you came from.” The masculine voice surprised Alice, she figured Charlotte would be the one to do all the talking, that this Jared had come merely for moral support. Turns out she was incorrect, he wanted her gone just as badly as Bella’s sister. Alice sighed in exasperation. “It’s Edward,” she began to explain, seeing the now irate expressions on both faces, she quickly continued, “He thinks Bella is dead.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow at the wisp of a girl in front of her, “And I know you don’t like him, but he’s my brother, I can’t let him kill himself to be with a girl that isn’t even dead herself.” Alice’s shoulders sagged, she’d finally said it aloud. Edward was planning to kill himself, and it was her fault. To be fair, Rose was the one who told him about Alice’s vision- or lack thereof- but it was Alice and her abilities that had given them the false knowledge in the first place.

Before either one could say anything, Chief Swan shuffled, crestfallen, into his home. “Dad?” Charlotte called from her position in the kitchen. “Is everything alright?” She strode past the impish vampire, uncaring of the situation unfolding beforehand. Charlie senior shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. “Harry Clearwater, he’s-” Her father swallowed, attempting to dislodge the lump forming in his throat, “He had a heart attack. He’s dead.” Charlotte wrapped herself in her father’s arms in an instant. Charlotte couldn’t explain how she knew something would happen to the Clearwater family today, but she was vastly unsettled by it. “Oh Dad, I’m so sorry to hear that.” Jared rapidly approached the two, entangling himself in their embrace.

Alice could feel that this wasn’t the time nor place to spring her return on the poor man. Alice liked Chief Swan, he was a kind man, and she didn’t want to ruin his day anymore than it had been. As she backed out of the house, her mind was racing. She needed a new plan and she needed it now. Just like that, the search for Bella Swan was once again a go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting my favourite story on my favourite holiday at 1:00 am because why not. Another long chapter, because I wanted to treat y'all, not trick you. 
> 
> Have a frightningly brilliant day! 
> 
> Hope you liked it, please leave a comment if you feel like it and tell me what you think.


	12. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know too much about AC/DC than one should.  
My dad is a huge AC/DC fan, so I grew up on their music. I also know a lot of useless trivia facts about the band and it's members. I legit just looked at their Wiki page and the general 'about' part told me nothing that I didn't already know.
> 
> I'm sorry there's so much music in this fic, but I'm never not listening to something (typically it's music, I only got into podcasts and audiobooks a year ago and still listen to music more).
> 
> As I've said many times before, this is a self-ingulgent fic, so my love of music finally made it's way into my writing and won't be leaving any time soon.
> 
> AC/DC slaps.
> 
> Also, sorry in advance for truck talk, though there isn't much lol, I know more about trucks than I realized.  
So, uh, this update is sposered by my dad. Thanks Dad, for loving trucks, being a mechanic, and also loving Austrailian rock 'n' roll bands.
> 
> If you want to know more about AC/DC, leave a comment, I'll tell you all about them lmao

Paul didn’t know what to do. The instant he’d looked into her eyes, he felt it. The gravity shifting, string pulling, life changing, earth shattering feeling. He didn’t know why it hadn’t happened before now, he’d looked into those eyes thousands of times before, but it didn’t matter now. He’d imprinted on the freshly turned, permanently changed, brand new, reborn Charlotte-Anne Renée Swan. And he couldn’t think of anything to do but panic.

So, when Charlie entrusted him with taking care of Bella, he did just that. Placing the unconscious girl on her sister's bed, he rifled through the chest of drawers in search of clean clothes for her. Bella's clothes were soaked, she'd been standing in the pouring rain at the edge of a cliff and talking to herself when she heard her sister’s scream echoing through the forest. Once he’d placed the clothes on the edge of the bed, he flopped down in the chair at the opposite end of the room. After hearing a few vehicles take off, Paul slumped in the surprisingly comfy chair and quickly fell asleep.

_Section: Vampire Hunters  
Subsection: Bitten Hunters _

_Vampires evolved to survive on human blood*. In retaliation, select human families evolved to better kill vampires. Many vampires have attempted to put an end to the hunters by changing them into the very thing they hunt. This has been observed to work in favour of the hunter._

_The change** takes less time for a hunter, though equally as painful. Bitten hunters are somewhere between vampire and human. They still age, and thus do not drink blood. With skin harder than a human, yet softer than a vampire, they tend to think of themselves as durable. These hunters have a heightened sense of both sight and smell, and can move at a speed parallel to a vampire._

_The hunters eyes retain their natural colour, as does their skin. They can go through a change in appearance, but have not been found to have the same allure that comes naturally to a vampire.  
Unlike vampires, bitten hunters maintain the ability to sleep, to eat human food, to age, reproduce, and the ability to die of natural causes._

_Such hunters tend to hold a vendetta against their ‘maker’, known as a sire***, and will seek to end said sire no matter how long or dangerous the process may be. They will do whatever it takes to get revenge on their creator._

_*For more on vampire evolution, see page 12_  
_**The process one undertakes in order to transform into a vampire, commonly known as ‘The Change’, it is the time spent in extremely unbearable pain that can last from 3 days to a week._  
_***For more about vampire sires, see page 37_

  


Hopping into the intimidating beauty known as Dorothy, Jacob was greeted by the rambunctious noise of Malcolm and Angus Young’s guitars crashing through the sound system. The opening notes of _'T.N.T.'_ blaring through the cab, chants of "OI!" surrounding him so loudly and thoroughly that it came off as the truck’s version of a heartbeat. Jacob didn’t know whether to laugh of piss himself, or piss himself laughing. Speeding out of the driveway, he took off down the road banging his head to the late Bon Scott claiming to be dirty, mean, and mighty unclean.

Jake sat at the border, listening to what he assumed was a burned CD Charlie made of her favourite AC/DC songs, for he couldn’t recall the band releasing an album with _‘Big Balls’, ‘Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap)’, ‘Highway To Hell’, ‘Hells Bells’, ‘Thunderstruck’, ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’, ‘To Those About To Rock (We Salute You), ‘Rock And Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution’, “It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock And Roll)’,_ and _‘Problem Child’_ all on the same album.  
Currently, he was bopping his head along to _‘Shoot To Thrill’_ as he waited for something, anything, to happen. He’d called Kim and Emily to fill the girls in on everything. Emily had gone into Masterchef Mode, as expected, and began cooking up a storm. Kim, on the other hand, had decided to join Jake at the treaty line. She’d gotten there in time to watch Charlotte and Jared both fly by at an insane, and highly illegal, speed. 

Kim had seen Dorothy before, but had never actually taken stock of the large truck. Polished black paint finish, with a matte flame decal licking up the front of the truck. The beast had been the pet project of Leah Clearwater and, of course, Charlie Swan.  
They’d started working on it the summer after Charlotte moved in with Paul, the two had tried to explain their plans for the truck to Kim once, but the language they used had gone over her head. She remembered something about a ‘lift kit’, whatever that was, and rebuilding the engine so it had more horsepower or something. Kim just knew the truck was taller, faster, and louder than ever before.

They had ordered a sound system for it online, and had been ecstatic to drive all the way out to Port Angeles upon its arrival. The girls had been so giddy about it, they asked Kim to go with them. Kim may not have known much about cars, but she went anyways, content to be hanging out in Port A with the two girls.

Sitting in the passenger seat now, having hauled herself up using what Jake had called a ‘running board’, she could appreciate their previous excitement. Though she wasn’t into the same music, she could see the appeal of having your favourite songs playing as loud as possible, singing your heart out for all to hear as you drive along the open road. Kim could finally see why Charlie loved her truck so much. Her truck was both an extension of herself, and an entity all its own.

Kim was shocked, to say the least, when she saw a small pale girl appear out of the woods, stopping a mere few feet from Dorothy. “Alice.” Jake growled. Kim paled by his side. This was a vampire? This was one of the Cullens that Bella had been so fond of, that had nearly been the destruction of Bella Swan? Kim wanted nothing to do with this pixie-like vampire, but she didn’t want Jake to deal with her on his own, so she reluctantly stepped out of the truck, and walked with Jacob to stand before the dark haired vampire girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took forever just writing that weird textbook like part, so that's what kept me from posting this earlier. Oops.  
That textbook part gave me insipration for later on, but actually writing the textbook part was a pain in the ass.
> 
> Also, yes, I added in the names of the rhythm and lead guitarists of AC/DC. My dad likes to joke that if my sister and I were born male, he would've named us Malcolm and Angus after Malcolm and Angus Young. I felt like it would be fun to have a nod to the Young brothers in here somewhere. And their lead singer, until his untimely death in 1980, Bon Scott, made it in here somehow too. Alcohol kills, never forget that.
> 
> I went nuts with the song titles in this, but I think we can all agree that Jake loves rock music and would totally know every song, much like Charlie does.
> 
> My favourite AC/DC song is T.N.T. and has been my fave since I was a child. So of course, I also mention the lyrics breifly. Also, if you've ever heared the beginning of that song, you'd know it sounds like a rock 'n' roll version of a heart beat. Like if a heart could beat in rock 'n' roll, this song would be that. Though the end would sound more like a heart attack, whoops.
> 
> I'm in the mood to talk about AC/DC right now, can you tell?  
Lmao sorry if my notes are boring this time around.


	13. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New update? New update!
> 
> You're welcome, internet.
> 
> If you could, please read the end note on this one. (It's a long note, I know, I'm sorry. I had something to get off my chest though.)

Paul awoke to Charlie standing in the doorway of her own bedroom, looking fondly at the room’s occupants. He didn’t know how long he’d been asleep, but it couldn’t have been more than a few hours. Part of Paul wanted to walk over and kiss Charlie, hoping that she might actually kiss him back. The other part wanted to pretend he was still sleeping and let her have this moment of fondness a little longer. Just as he closed his eyes, attempting to get his breathing under control, she spoke. “I know you’re awake Paul,” she chuckled softly, finally making her way into the room.

“Bella’s presence has been requested in Forks.” Charlie sighed heavily before coming to a stop in front of him. Crouching down so she was at eye level with the shifter, she brushed her hand over his cheek. The contrast between her ivory skin and his terra cotta was stark but they complimented each other nicely, like colours on opposite sides of the colour wheel.

Paul didn’t know much about art, but Charlotte would do art lessons sometimes, if she needed extra cash that she wasn’t getting from her job at the convenience store, and he’d picked up on a few things. Paul wasn’t the artistic type, but he still understood and appreciated the beauty in art, even the unconventional art. He understood that it wasn’t always meant to be beautiful, and he found that in itself to be a beautiful thing. Almost as beautiful as the face of the woman he loved, hovering less than a foot from his own.

_Damn, she’s gorgeous._

Charlotte giggled.

Paul swore.

“I say that out loud?” He rasped grumpily, clearly still tired despite his nap. Charlie nodded, a hand covering her mouth to stifle her laughter. Paul grumbled under his breath. When Charlotte had had enough of his grouching, she leaned in and kissed him. And, once his brain rebooted, he was quick to kiss her back.

He didn’t know how he thought it would feel to kiss Charlie, but he wasn’t expecting it to be the most electrifying and calming thing he’d ever experienced. He understood now why Charlotte loved sitting in the living room, curtains thrown open, cup of tea in hand, to watch a thunderstorm with rapt attention. It was thrilling, but in an almost lazy way.  
He enjoyed every second of it.

Eventually she pulled away, and the look in her eyes almost killed him. She knew now, just how he felt about her. And she felt the same way, he could see it all over her face. But her eyes held all her anxieties. He could see every ‘what if’, every reason that they shouldn’t, couldn’t be together. And he knew, in that instant, that he would never let her do that to herself. He wouldn’t let her walk away from what she wanted. Copying her tactic, he leant in and kissed her before she could process his movement. She sighed into him before breaking their kiss once more. This time he saw none of the self doubt and worries he had before.

Charlie kissed his nose lightly before standing up and walking over to the bed, where her sister lay motionless, blissfully unaware of what had just happened. “I originally wanted to talk with you about this whole _feelings_ thing, but you distracted me.” She teased, looking at him, her eyes sparkling with mischief. Charlie turned away before speaking again. “Oh, and If you even so much as think about sleeping with Rachel Black, _again,_ I swear, to any deity listening right now, that I will rip your balls off and feed them to you.” Charlie said in the same soft tone as before, not taking her fond gaze off of Bella.

Paul laughed joyfully. “I love you, woman.”

  


_Can Bitten Hunters Have Vampire Gifts?_

_While it is extremely rare for a hunter that has been bitten by a vampire to develop extra gifts, it does happen on occasion. These gifts aren’t as pronounced as they would be in a vampire, but are certainly heightened from the muddled down, vague, human version._

  


As Bella Swan raced towards a suicidal vampire, Charlotte walked leisurely behind her, slowly making her way through the town square. She still couldn't believe that she was in Italy. Even harder to believe was that she and Bella had flown to Italy with Alice Cullen in a feeble attempt to save Edward from his own over dramatic tenancies. She wasn't about to let Bella go on a mission to save the ex boyfriend that had sent her into such a deep depression she was practically zombified without backup.  
Charlie may not have been there for her little sister over the years, but she was here now and that's what matters.

Sitting down on the lip of a beautiful fountain, Charlie took in the sight around her. The people all dressed up, festivities in full swing. It was awe-inspiring. Charlotte was grateful that she'd remembered to bring her travel book with her. Opening the book to a new page, she fished a pen out of her purse and began to sketch the city around her. The people, the architecture, all of it.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" A voice beside her asked. It sounded almost whimsical,like a windchime. Charlie turned to look at the small pixie-esque girl, covered head to toe in clothing, and sighed. "A part of me has always wondered what it would be like, travel the world, see the sights." Turning back to her sketch, she continues, "The Roman Colosseum, the Eiffel tower, the Louvre, the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Wall of China," Charlie hated going from state to state like her mother, though travelling abroad held a certain apeal to the twenty-year-old girl. "But as much fun as that would be, I'd miss home. Dad, the pack, Paul, the people of La Push who have been nothing but welcoming to me since Paul and I moved into the house his grandparents left for him.

"And, now that I've finally gotten the chance to have her in my life again, Bella. I'd miss my little Izzy like crazy. She means the world to me, always has." She looked at the sprite beside her. Alice nodded in understanding, but didn't interrupt.

"I've had issues since I was a little kid. Nightmares, insomnia as a result of nightmares, grief over my parents' divorce, anger issues, a need to learn self-defense. Renée thought that if the numerous different combat and martial arts lessons didn't help with my nightmares, then they might help with my anger at least. But that wasn't the case. The nightmares got worse as time went on, getting more realistic, and the anger became a defence mechanism in itself. I've always had a hard time letting people in, especially when it comes to my emotions. If I'm angry all the time,they don't pry as much as they would if I were to show them how I actually feel."

Charlie slowly got up from the fountain ledge, putting her sketchbook and pen away, offering her arm to the dainty looking vampire, she added "Enough about me, we have a dumbass mind-reader to go save."

With that, Alice tucked her hand into the crook or Charlotte's elbow, and the two strolled down the street in search of their insufferable siblings.

Alice didn’t want to admit it, but she could easily find herself growing fond of Charlotte if she allowed herself to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No music this chapter, what's up with that? Also back on track with the long chapters! Yay!
> 
> This chapter refused to be written for the longest time and then today it decided to appear on my screen as quickly as I could type. I literally wrote all but the odd little textbook blurb thing today. The textbook blurb thing has been in my docs for 5 days now with nothing else written down for this chapter. And then it all hit me at once and here we are.
> 
> Basically what I'm saying is if there are spelling or grammar mistakes, I'm sorry.
> 
> Hope you enjoy, and if you do please tell me, I'd love to hear from you guys.  
Seriously, I have anxiety and it likes to make me think that most of you aren't commenting because you're hate-reading this, or no one leaves comments because you guys think it's alright but not good enough to have comments.
> 
> I hate being 'that person' when it comes to telling you to leave comments, but it really does a number on my confidence when writing if I keep posting and and posting and have only gotten one comment on one chapter and the literal only other comment on the fic was me responding to that person. 
> 
> I get it if you don't know what to say, I really do, but even just saying 'I like it' can and will put a huge smile on my face.
> 
> You don't have to if you don't want to, please don't take this as me saying "comment, or else" or whatever, but I would really love to hear from you guys. If you want me to put less music in the fic, tell me. if you like/dislike my characterization of someone, tell me. if you think the pacing is weird, please tell me. 
> 
> Authors can't improve without feedback and constructive critisism. Furthermore, my anxiety can't make me feel ridiculous for continuing to post this fic if I know people are actually enjoying my story. I appreciate every single hit and every single kudos I get, but getting hits and kudos isn't always enough reassurance.
> 
> Also, I will probably reply to you and tell you how much your comment means to me and a bunch of facts about the story if you do comment because I literally have nothing better to do. I might not reply immediately, but I get so excited when I see that someone commented that I'll probably reply immediately after seeing the comment.
> 
> If you comment, thank you so, so much.  
If you don't, then thank you for reading.  
Also thank you for every kudos, hit, bookmark, and subscription.


	14. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those of you who commented on the previous chapter, it was really nice to know that you guys actually care about my story and that my writing doesn't suck as much as my anxiety would have me believe.
> 
> Oh, an update? Let me just- YEET!  
Ta da!
> 
> Idk guys, I finished a book series at 4 am this morning, and stayed up looking at meme related to the series for another hour after that. I got very little sleep.
> 
> Also, yes the next chapter will be the last chapter. I knew this fic would be coming to a close sometime soon, but until now was unsure of when. I didn't want to post this chapter without knowing how many more I would do, ended up writing the next chapter immediately after I wrote this one, and it's got a feeling of being done. 
> 
> I do want to do a sequel though, so stay tuned for news on that when I post the last chapter!

Bella couldn’t believe she’d just done that. One of these days it’s really going to backfire on her, but at the moment she didn't particularly care because _damn_ did that ever feel _good_. At least emotionally it did, for she was now in immense pain. But whatever, it was worth it to see the look on his face.

Edward thought he was dead, that _Bella _ was dead, and he somehow believed that they’d been reunited in the afterlife. _What an over dramatic moron._ She didn’t come all the way out to Italy to save his ass just to have him think she was an illusion. So she slapped him right in his melodramatic face, just as she had with Paul a month ago.

Bella didn't know what had gotten into her recently, but she wasn't upset about it. Actually, she found this version of herself to be infinitely more exciting than the docile creature she'd once been. Though she should probably quit while she's ahead in terms of slapping supernatural entities.

Edward could do little more than stare at her in shock. He didn't know Bella had it in her to slap someone, least of all him. Before either one of them got the chance to say anything, however, their sisters strode up to them arm in arm, the Volturi at their heels. 

  


"Bella wouldn't blab. Do you really think she'd be so reckless as to risk so many people she cares about like that?" Charlie couldn't believe these people. The Italian vampire mafia is actually kind of pathetic. "And that's if someone actually believes her. Chances are they'll think she's lost it and throw her in the loony bin! Boom, problem solved."

The condescension rolled from the small woman in roiling waves. She'd been here for less than 5 minutes and Aro already knew he disliked her. Immensely. "And who, besides the Cullens, would Isabella be risking?" Aro raised an eyebrow at the wisp of a girl. Her eyes unsettled him, a translucent grey somehow alight with fire, though the glare she directed at him was as cold as ice.

"How about her vampire hunting sister who was bitten by a vampire, that is only in Forks because Edgar here killed her mate, less than twenty-four hours ago. Or what about said hunter's shape shifting boyfriend and the rest of the wolf pack he belongs to, including the future alpha. Who, as it happens, is also Bella's best friend."

At that the room goes silent.

The black haired one, Charlie heard them call him Aro, narrowed his milky red eyes at her. Blondie beside him stared at her in shock. "Victoria." Edward hissed. Bella sputtered, floored by her sister's words. "Boyfriend? Since when have you and Paul been more than oblivious pining idiots for one another." Charlotte grinned at her little sister, but before she could make a witty comeback or, for once in her life, answer sincerely, a stern yet commanding voice cut through the tension in the room like a knife through warm butter.

"And just who, exactly, do you think you are?" Aro leant forwards in a threatening manner, staring down the brash young woman who had a particular penchant for interrupting their conversation. The little firecracker didn't back down from the unspoken challenge. Staring back at Aro intently, she stepped forwards with purpose. Standing a mere foot from him, she stopped and spoke.

"I am Charlotte-Anne Renée Swan, eldest daughter of Charles Swan and Renée Dwyer, and two years the elder sibling of Isabella Marie Swan. A vampire hunter as well as weapons expert and have extensive hand to hand combat training, never mind my skills as an archer. I was bitten by the vampire intent on ruining my sister's life approximately twelve hours or so ago." Charlie stopped briefly as a small gasp sounded through the room.

"My boyfriend, the love of my life, my 'mate' as you would call it I guess, is a shape shifter of the native Quileute tribe in La Push, Washington. The Quileute shapeshifters turn into horse sized wolves, and the pack considers me one of their own. They too are vampire hunters, however none of us hunt outside our area of residence. Unless given a reason to do so, that is." Charlie huffed loudly and indignantly at the end of her little impromptu speech.

How dare these people question her knowledge, her authority, her right to stand before them, to interject in their discussion as she deems necessary. Do they think they're frightening, that they're threatening, sitting on their gilded thrones like lazy sacks of _shit_ and telling people how to live their lives? Ridiculous. Milky eyed demons. Do they even catch their own meals? Charlie wouldn't be shocked to find out that they get their humans hand delivered to them. And they have the gall to believe they have the right to tell others what they should and shouldn't do. If it weren't for all the robed vampires standing behind the trifecta of thrones, Charlotte would've already kicked Aro in the teeth.

Edward’s gaze dips sharply to peer at the huntress's feet, finding the same battered black combat boots she always wore. "How'd you get steel toed boots through the airport?" He whispered from behind her. Charlotte had moved back to her original position near her sister. Edward, Alice, and Charlie stood in a loose yet protective 'human' shield around Bella. "They make you take your shoes off, dumbass, how else?" Charlotte hissed under her breath. "Plus I didn't care to bring more footwear than what I had on at the time." Edward laughed outright at the thought of Charlotte Swan being too grumpy to take off her shoes, as though she was a petulant child who missed naptime. 

"Can it, Eduardo." Charlie snapped, suddenly standing stock still. Edward returned to monitoring her thoughts, noting the overwhelming sense of unease quickly blocking out all other thoughts in her head. Suddenly he understood what her power was. If Bella's a magnet for danger, that makes Charlie a metal detector. He and Alice close ranks around the youngest Swan instantly. “Izzy, We need to get you out of here. Someone here really wants to harm you, but we won’t let them.” Charlie explained in a calm tone, though one look at the girl would tell you she is far from calm. “She is perfectly capable of keeping her mouth shut. As am I, when I feel like it.” Charlotte growled to the old crows as the rag-tag group made their way back into the labyrinthine hallways they’d navigated on the way in.

Charlie should’ve kicked them in the teeth when she had the chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while, I got caught up with reading an entire book series and in the time it took me to do that the final book in a different series came out and I read that too.
> 
> My best friend since kindergarten had her baby shower on the 17th so that was fun. Also, I hung out with one of my friends from high school that I haven't seen in a few years because he didn't believe me when I said I was better at Uno than I used to be and thus challenged me to a duel and we played Uno, then Monopoly, for 5 hours.
> 
> So yeah, I've been a little preoccupied lately. But I'm back now!
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoyed the update!
> 
> If you could leave kudos or a comment that would mean the world to me!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading my fic and also my crazy ramblings.


	15. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. Here we are. The epilogue of Running With Wolves. Holy crap.
> 
> I really hope y'all enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it! This is the end of this book, but not the end of Charlie's story, I will be making this a series (named Killer Swans), and the second book will be called Chasing Flame. I don't know how many books will be in the series, but I'll get there when I get there I guess.
> 
> As always, enjoy!

“Paul, I’m home-” Charlie had barely stepped through the doorway when the oversized twenty year old practically plowed into her, scooping her up in the air effortlessly in a nearly bone crushing hug. “Paul, if I get a broken rib because you were excited to see me, I’ll kill you” Charlotte laughed lightly. Paul put her down hastily, not wanting to hurt his mate. “Sorry,” he muttered, turning his head to try and escape her teasing at the sight of his flushed cheeks. it just made Charlie laugh louder. “I love you, you dork.” she snorted, walking past him to remove her ever-present combat boots.

She had one off and was in the middle of unlacing the other when she dropped the laces from her grasp, sighing heavily. “Paul?” He looked over from his position on the couch in their living room. “Something Bella mentioned when we were in Italy has been bugging me the whole way home.” She spoke softly, as though if she spoke in her normal voice, the moment would shatter. She feared that it might. “And I realized something.” Taking a deep breath, she forged on, “I’ve been in love with you since before I knew the meaning of the word, and I have a feeling that the same goes for your love for me.” He nods in both answer and reassurance, silently urging her to continue.

“We’ve spent an incredulous and unnecessary amount of time apart already, and I don’t want to waste any more of it on trivial monikers that imply our love is temporary. I don’t want to be yours for now, I want to be yours forever. I want the world to know I’m yours forever.” Though he could see where she was headed, he didn’t stop her, not even for the sake of tradition, or whatever.

They never really were once for conventional or traditional, in fact this was the closest the two would probably ever get. “Paul Lahote, will you marry me?” Charlie had tears in her eyes as she sat in the front entrance, combat boot laces completely forgotten.

Paul didn’t hesitate to answer. “I’d marry you a million times over, in a million different lifetimes. In a heartbeat, woman.” He’d gotten up from the couch and was now on one knee before her, ring box in hand, and a sly smirk on his face, though his eyes were also crowded with tears. “But only if you’ll marry me too.”

“Oh, fuck you, Lahote.” She laughed, tears streaming down her face, as the love of her life placed a ring on the finger of her left hand. Paul looked up at Charlie, his face equally wet, and smiled wildly at her. “I believe that’s what the honeymoon is for.”

  


“What are we doing here? And what are _they_ doing here?”

“Em, calm down.”

Emmett barked out a humourless laugh. “Calm down. Calm down?! You brought us into a clearing full of enemies, Edward. A pack of giant wolves that exist because of us, all of which resent us for it by the way. And rightfully so!" He glanced over at the group on the other end of the forest clearing nervously before continuing. "Nevermind The silver one’s fiancée is a super-powered vampire hunter. Along with her sister, now her trainee, who just so happens to be your ex-girlfriend.” He snorted derisively at the stupidity the mind reader could possess. 

Emmett had a point, everyone knew that. The only thing more terrifying than Chief Swan are his daughters. Still, they started this mess, they'll be damned if they don't have a hand in finishing it. "Victoria is still out there, Emmett. Alice can't see her, but Charlie can sense the threat level rising. I talked to Jasper about it and he thinks that, with all the chaos in Seattle recently, Victoria is most likely building an army of newbloods. As formidable an enemy as the pack and the Swans would be for most small covens, they're no match for an army."

Emmett agreed, begrudgingly, but said nothing, allowing his brother to continue or, at the very least, shut up. "Besides, Jasper has experience with this sort of thing." Edward clapped a hand on Jasper's shoulder in passing as he stepped into view of the clearing's occupants. "Ah, Edison! I was beginning to think you'd gotten cold feet." The loud and overly cheerful voice greeted him from across the expanse. "Well, hello there, Lottie." Edward retaliates, knowing how much the the huntress hates the nickname. The only person to ever dare call Charlotte-Anne Swan 'Lottie' and get away with it was Renée.

“Brave words for a man within shooting range.” Charlie chirped back, glaring at Edward, one hand reaching for the bow slung across her back. As usual, she sat atop the silver wolf as though she’d somehow mistaken him for her horse, and grinning like mad when her response made Edward halt, if only briefly, on his trek towards the center of the clearing.

Roaring laughter burst into the night from behind him, and Edward turned to see Emmett at the edge of the treeline, doubled over. One had braced on the trunk of a very sturdy tree, the other wrapped around his abdomen. “Nevermind what I said earlier, dude. Charlotte and I are gonna get along just fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The most surreal thing about this fic to me is that I have only finished one other fic before. I've been writing fanfiction for many years, but this is only the second one I've completed. It's also the largest fic I've ever written, and will now also be the largest fic I've ever completed.
> 
> Thank you all for coming on this incredible journey with me, and I hope you'll be as eager as I am to see what's in store for Charlie, Paul, and Bella in the next book(s?).
> 
> I wanted Charlotte and Paul to be engaged before the events of Eclipse, that's something I've wanted since the beginning, but I wasn't sure when it would happen or how. Honestly I kinda wanted it to be more casual, like Charlie says something and Paul says "marry me" in response and Charlie says yes so whoops now their engaged, but Charlotte Swan had other plans apparently.
> 
> Seriously the amount of times this story wrote it's self is insane. Some stories are like that though, I guess.
> 
> I want to thank anyone who ever left kudos, commented, subscribed, bookmarked, and read any part of my story. It means the world to me. I had a blast with this story, so thank you for showing me that you thought it was worth writing. I've already started on the beginning of Chasing Flame.
> 
> I can't believe I've finished it. It doesn't seem real. Holy fuck.
> 
> There's a distinct lack of music, but oh well. This was fun!
> 
> Until next time, hasta la vista bitches.


End file.
